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J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (Two Volume Box Set) |  | Authors: Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Category: Book
List Price: $100.00
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 262467
Format: Box set
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 2300
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 4.6
ISBN: 0618391134
Dewey Decimal Number: 828.91209
UPC: 046442391139
EAN: 9780618391134
ASIN: 0618391134
Publication Date: October 6, 2006
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Product Description
Designed to be the essential reference works for all readers and students, these volumes present the most thorough analysis possible of Tolkien's work within the important context of his life.
The Reader's Guide includes brief but comprehensive alphabetical entries on a wide range of topics, including a who's who of important persons, a guide to places and institutions, details concerning Tolkien's source material, information about the political and social upheavals through which the author lived, the importance of his social circle, his service as an infantryman in World War I -- even information on the critical reaction to his work and the "Tolkien cult."
The Chronology details the parallel evolutions of Tolkien's works and his academic and personal life in minute detail. Spanning the entirety of his long life including nearly sixty years of active labor on his Middle-earth creations, and drawing on such contemporary sources as school records, war service files, biographies, correspondence, the letters of his close friend C. S. Lewis, and the diaries of W. H. Lewis, this book will be an invaluable resource for those who wish to gain a complete understanding of Tolkien's status as a giant of twentieth-century literature.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
Amazing amount of info !!!!! March 16, 2009
Ryan D. (Linton, IN USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This set of 2 books has got to be the most informative, fun-to-read, amazing books on Tolkien I have read. Wayne & Christina have done it again. These 2 books are a must have for any serious Tolkien fan although they are a bit too much for a casual Tolkien reader IMHO. The Chronology is almost like reading a diary of everything JRRT did from day to day. It's so much fun to read & see what Tolkien's life was like. The Reader's Guide is so stuffed with information it's like having a whole encyclopedia on Tolkien. It has almost anything you could want to know about the man, his works, his family, his feelings/opinions on world events, etc. These 2 books are from the dynamic duo who brought us the reader's companion on the Lord Of The Rings which is a must have book for a reader of that book whether reading it for the 1st time or for the 30th. In summary, if you're just a casual Tolkien reader who enjoys The Hobbit or LOTR and don't care to know any more about the history of the books or the author of them, this set might be too much for you. On the other hand if you are a die-hard Tolkien fan, you simply MUST get this set of books. You will feel like a kid in a candy store with all the Tolkien info in these books!!!
Pleasant Xmas Gift for a relation January 22, 2008
Nevin House (Rosslyn, VA USA)
I am a Williams alumni, and I was pleased to present this definitive Tolkien guide to my brother for Xmas this year. Bravo to the librarians!
Everything you ever wanted to know about Tolkien and then some October 14, 2007
Brian & Randy (United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Like the title of my review says, this set has everything you ever wanted to know about Tolkien and then some. At around 2300 pages, this isn't exactly casual reading, and it isn't for the casual reader either - it is for the devoted Tolkien fan.
Devoted Tolkien fans will be rewarded for their patience as they work their way through these thick volumes. Plenty of rare nuggets and interesting commentary on the life and times of Tolkien.
A Magnificent Work of Scholarship March 5, 2007
John D. Cofield
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is an enormous work and a stupendous achievement. Christina Scull and her husband Wayne G. Hammond have created, in two large volumes, an indispensable compendium for students of JRR Tolkien. Although the two volumes can be obtained separately, I recommend that both be purchased, preferably at the same time, so that you can turn from one to the other as your studies lead you down one fascinating avenue to countless others.
The Chronology Volume is an amazing achievement. JRR Tolkien's entire life is chronicled, many times day by day, so that we know what classes he taught, lectures he gave, conferences he attended, and guests he invited for dinner throughout a long, active life. This may seem to be inconsequential minutiae, but all of it is important in revealing the personality and character of the author and the many sources from which his own writings sprang. Historians and sociologists will also find this volume extremely useful since it reveals one man's daily life through three quarters of the twentieth century.
Equally as impressive is Volume 2, the Reader's Guide. Here Scull and Hammond have provided a multiplicity of information on every bit of extant writing by Tolkien, other authors and thinkers with whom he conversed or otherwise communicated, and so much else that it is impossible to enumerate it all. Scholars studying other writers besides Tolkien will do well to consult this volume, since he had contact with so many of them.
As a matter of full disclosure I should reveal that I met Christina Scull some years ago in London, and I have maintained a friendship with her and with Wayne ever since. I am honored that an article I wrote for the Tolkien journal "Beyond Bree" has been referenced in this Reader's Guide. But I hasten to assure you that I would be just as impressed with this work and would recommend itjust as highly even if these connections did not exist.
Incomparable Reference Work on an Incomparable Author February 26, 2007
Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Scull and Hammond's "The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide" is an unparalleled reference work about Tolkien as author. The "Chronology" volume examines his life in extraordinary detail, often day-by-day. It draws heavily from Tolkien's letters. The Reader's Guide" volume discusses in equal detail the persons, institutions, and literary works that influenced Tolkien's great cration. Published in a boxed, two-volume set of excellent physical quality, Scull and Hammond's "The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide" would be a handsome addition to any library, and a fountain of sparkling interest to any serious Tolkien student.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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